Boxing Life Stories

By Tris DixonSports

Boxing Life Stories episodes

May 06, 2020 Season 2: #33 Mikkel Kessler

Viking Warrior Mikkel Kessler fought the likes of Joe Calzaghe, Carl Froch and Andre Ward in a decorated career that saw him capture the WBA and WBC titles at super-middleweight.
From fighting early on in Las Vegas to being on the big Mike Tyson-Brian Neilsen bill at the Parken in Copenhagen, he was initially guided by Hall of Fame promoter Mogens Palle.
He unified the titles and scored wins over Anthony Mundine, Marcus Beyer and Eric Lucas before his huge night in Wales against Calzaghe. Kessler fought in the brilliant Super Six series, learned to ride fast motorbikes and a comeback was curtailed after he was bitten by a tick and hospitalised. Here, he talks about the big nights, who would have won between Froch and Calzaghe and Calzaghe and Ward and much more.
Now now he lives quietly in Denmark.

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1 hr 19 min
April 29, 2020 Season 2: #32 Andy Lee

Former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee reached the top when he won the world crown against Matvey Korobov in Las Vegas.
Lee's journey saw him go from Olympic heartbreak as Ireland's sole representative at the 2004 Games to big things in the USA. He was taken under the wing of Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward and became a star of the famous Kronk Gym in Detroit. He rose fast, but was stunned in a defeat to Bryan Vera that saw him question everything.
He fought his way back. There were trials and tribulations. Here, he lets you into his uncertainty, while being behind the scenes at the Kronk and on the road in Klitschko training camps. Then came the big nights, wins against John Jackson, Craig McEwan, Korobov and more and he joined forces with one of Britain's leading trainers, Adam Booth. As the champion, he faced Peter Quillin before losing his crown to Billy Joe Saunders.
Then came an acceptance that it was over. He began his new life as a trainer, working with the likes of Paddy Donovan and Jay Quigley and he was a key part of Tyson Fury's rematch win over Deontay Wilder.

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2 hr 10 min
April 22, 2020 Season 2: #31 Bob Canobbio

CompuBox co-founder Bob Canobbio has been in boxing for 35 years. One of the first contests he covered providing stats for was the war between Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns.
He's provided punchstats to all of the major networks, including HBO, Showtime, ESPN and DAZN and he's been ringside for all of the great fights and fighters of the modern era.
Here, in this deep dive on his career, he talks about the criticism punchstats receive, flying in Bob Arum's private plane, the direction of stats in boxing and the big personalities he's come across in a wide ranging interview.

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1 hr 11 min
April 15, 2020 Season2: #30 Billy Schwer

Billy Schwer was a world class lightweight who fought the likes of Rafael Ruelas, Stevie Johnston, Colin Dunne and many more.
In all, he boxed 45 times as a professional, eventually winning the IBO title at light-welterweight.
In an intimate interview, he talks about the importance of that title, the big nights, headlining in Las Vegas, working with Hall of Fame promoter Mickey Duff, the disappointments and how he spectacularly came off the rails in retirement.
Now a motivational speaker who has found his happy place in life, he's an inspiration, a man who hit rock bottom and contemplated suicide who now wants to live to be 130 years old.

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2 hr 4 min
April 08, 2020 Season 2: #29 Stanley 'Kitten' Hayward

Stanley 'Kitten' Hayward was a world class Philadelphia welterweight who beat future Hall of Famers Curtis Cokes and Emile Griffith and he also battled city rivals Bennie Briscoe, Cyclone Hart, Gypsy Joe Harris and Bennie Briscoe.
He turned pro all the way back in 1959 and after a 47-fight career he had a successful career working in the Philadelphia law courts, where we first met some 15 years ago.
'Kitten' is now 80 but he has some stories to tell, remembering some of the rivals he faced, the fighters he sparred and the old gangsters he knew.
This episode also features Tris in a Twitter Q and A after the interview.

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1 hr 13 min
April 01, 2020 Season 2: #28 Geraldine Davies

Gerladine Davies has been in boxing for four decades and has worked with a who's who of the sport.
A fixer, a publicist, a point of contact... She's done it all, from hosting travel events in Las Vegas through the Fabulous Four era of Duran, Leonard, Hagler and Hearns to trying to salvage out of hand boxing parties in Boston, she was once thrown out of Johnny Tocco's famous gym for being a lady before going on to work with British stars like Ricky Hatton and Lennox Lewis.
Now she's working for Mauricio Sulaiman, the head of the WBC, and Las Vegas-based fight artist Richard Slone. This is Geraldine's incredible life in boxing.

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1 hr 20 min
March 24, 2020 Season 2: #27 Colin McMillan

Former WBO featherweight champion Colin McMillan could be forgiven for being sour.
Just when he had the world at his feet, as the reigning champion, he lost his crown in his first defence when he suffered a dislocated shoulder. Things changed from that moment.
But McMillan has retained his highly positive disposition and is one of boxing's good guys. He had a fascinating career, trying to forge his own path, working with the late author Jonathan Rendall as an advisor, being guided by Terry Marsh and then, afterwards, becoming an advisor to Audley Harrison.
In his own fighting career, there were big nights against big names when he was being touted as the next big thing and then came the disappointment of the injury that curtailed his charge. There were battles with the powers that be, battles with himself and battles with his shoulder. This is an incredible story.

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1 hr 28 min
March 18, 2020 Season 2: #26 Tony Sims

Trainer Tony Sims is one of the quiet men in boxing.
He's become one of the go-to coaches in British boxing, working with the likes of Anthony Joshua, Darren Barker, Kevin Mitchell, Conor Benn, Ted Cheeseman, Lee Purdy and many more.
A former talented amateur, who by his own admission couldn't punch, he talks about working on the fish market, nearly turning pro, working the doors at Stringfellows and the Ministry of Sound and his famous family, well known in other circles for their roles in The Only Way Is Essex.
Tony doesn't give many interviews about himself, he prefers to talk about his fighters. But here, rarely, is the Tony Sims story.

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1 hr 56 min
March 11, 2020 Season 2: #25 Wayne Elcock

Wayne Elcock is a former British middleweight champion who boxed Arthur Abraham for the IBF world middleweight crown in 2007.
Elcock was a prominent fixture on the British boxing landscape, fighting the likes of Matthew Macklin, Howard Eastman, Lawrence Murphy, Darren McDermott, Anthony Farnell, Scott Dann and Steven Bendall.
Here, he talks about the troubled days that saw him land his 'Mad Dog' nickname, the tragic loss of his father in a car crash, juggling his fighting prime with his job as a BT engineer and his new start as a coach and owner of the Md Dog's Boxing shop maddogsboxing.com

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2 hr 36 min
March 04, 2020 Season 2: #24 Michael Sprott
Former European heavyweight champion Michael Sprott has done almost everything in boxing. There isn't one leading European heavyweight he hasn't fought as a pro or sparred with, from being in training camp with both Klitschko brothers, working relentlessly with David Haye, going to Russia in camp with Alexander Povetkin to fighting the likes of Danny Williams, Matt Skelton and Audley Harrison.
On the way down, he also fought an up and coming Anthony Joshua, but often had to ply his trade abroad. Through his career, he was cast as the opponent or the gatekeeper. He fought contenders and champions with records of 8-0, 6-0, 13-0, 15-0, 9-0, 18-0, 22-0, 14-0 31-1 and you could go on. He fought Ruslan Chagaev, Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster, Alexander Dimitrenko, Robert Helenius...
He's also a nice, humble chap but he has an itch to scratch and, aged 45 and with a 42-29 record, he wants one more fight.
This episode also features Tris Dixon's Q and A from Twitter.

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1 hr 49 min